Poultry beheader



Patented Nov. 20, 1923.

PATENT Aoi-flficj Y PHILIP J. HAAs, or OMAHA, NEBRASKA.-

IoULraY BEIIEADEB.

I Application lel April 9,

To'aZZ whom t may concern.'`

Be it known that I, PHILIPA J. Hans, a cit-` izen of the United States,anda resident of Omaha, in the countyof Douglas and State of Nebraska,have inventedV certain new and useful Improvements in Poultry Beheaders,of which the following is aspecification.

My *invention relates to` devices for decap'itating-poultryfor domesticuse and it Y U-shaped mainframe comprising vertical legs 4 and an archedcross-piece 5 connecting the upper ends of said legs. On the outer isides of the legs atthe lower ends thereof are lugs 6 which extendbetween the forked ends of foot-pieces 7 the latter being fixedlysecured by means of screws 8 to a suitable base-member, such as alwoodenpost 9. At

one side a pivotal connection of the lug 6 to the foot-piece is formedby a rivet 10, and at Vthe other side a detachable connection betweenthe lug and foot-piece is formed by a small bolt 11. Removal of the bolt11 en-v ables the frame to be swung about the axis of the rivetV 10 toan approximately hori! 'zontal position, for a purpose which willpresently appear. In the flat adjacent sides Y of the legs 4 are twopairs of vertical grooves which form guideways for `the blade 12 and ahorizontal neck-bar or holder 113. To the upper edge of the blade 12 isconnected a tubular' stem 14 which extends slidably through an openingtherefor in the arched cross-piece o, the connection of 4said stem andblade being effected as follows: Near the lower end of the stemv oneside thereof is cut away to form an offset or shoulder equal to thethickness ofthe blade, and the flattened or cut away side of the stem isheld. against Vthe side of the blade by means ofra U-shaped clip 15which extends around the stem and has the ends thereof secured to thek Vblade by rivets Y16. The upper edge of the blade rests against theshoulder on the stem, which extends out flush with the outer side 1923;serial No. 630,772. v

of the, blade, as best IShown einig! 2.,- Iii the side of the stemadjoining theclip',there,jf

is a'small recess or icount'ersink, and" the ad; jacent portion of theclipis drivenfor swaged' into said recess to form a projection, .11V 'vwhich interlocksthe clipa'nd sternV and pre'- vents relative verticalmovement thereof@ A cap 1S`is` screwed upon thepuppe'rT end 'of thetubular stem, and acoil spring 19 is disposition shown. The lower edgeo-f. the blade is sharpened,las indicated in Fig. 2, and the blade maybe moveddownwardly to bring said sharpened edge into engagement with thebase member 9. A cylindrical stem or rod 2() is fiXedly connectedwithithe center of the neck-bar or holder 13, said rod being axially,alined with the stem 14'and ex- ,I

tending slidably into the lower` portion thereof. A small coil spring2lis disposed within the tubular stem between the upper end of the rod 2Oand the cap v18, said spring posed aroundfthe Astern between the loweii`end of said cap and the upper side `of the v frame cross-piece 5,sai'dfspring normally holding the-stem and'blade in the (raised pressingdownwardly upon the rod and tendi ing to hold the neck-barvin the lowerportion Y guide-grooves thereforl in the frame-` legs 4. A

of Vthe In the use of the devicethe saine vis mounted upon a substantialbase, such asa post` or chopping-block, at' a convenient height. Thefowlto be beheadedis held by the legs with'one hand, the neck-bar 13-islifted suliiciently to enable the head 0f the fowl to be passed beneaththe bar, and the bar is then lowered'onto the neck,l being pressedlightly thereon by the spring 21', so that withdrawal V0f the head isprevented.v

qliliickJ sharpy blow ofv aA mallet, Y

Then, by a hammer orite like upon the 'cap 18, the stem 14 and blade l2are forced downwardly and the sharpenedledge of the blade 12 instantlysevers the neck of the fowl. y

VBy removal off the bolt 11 and swinging of the frame about 'the rivet10 to the horizon-'- tal positionabove mentioned, the neck-barv and rod2O may be removed from thel frame, Y and by then Vunscrewing the cap 18from the end of the tubular-stem 14 the latter may be withdrawn` fromthe frame, together with the blade 12, for convenience in sharpening theblade, or for storing the same in a dry place to preventv rustingthereof,

should the frame be permanently mounted l in an outdoor or exposedlocation.

Now, having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. In a device of the class described, an inverted U-shaped frame havingvertical legs provided in their adjacent sides with in' their adjacentsides with guideways, a

blade slidable in said guideways, a stein secured to said blade andextending slidably through aportion or' the frame, a cap removablysecured on said stem, a spring disposed around the stem between the capand frame and normally holding the stem and blade in a raised position,foot-pieces secured to a base, and means for pivotally connecting one ofthe frame-legs to One of the foot-pieces and ldetachably connecting theother leg` to the other foot-piece.

3. In a device of the class described, a frame having spaced verticallegs and a con-l necting cross-piece between the upper portions of saidlegs, a blade guided for vertical movement between said legs, a basemember to Awhich the lower ends of said legs are connected7 saidbase-member extending transversely between'the legs to form a block forcoaction with the sharpened lower edge of tue blade, a stein secured tothe blade and extending therefrom upwardly through the cross-piece orpthe frame, and a spring asso-v ciatedivith said steni for holding the.blade normally in a raised position.

PHILIP J. HAAS.

ass

